This year on 15th October Dussehra was celebrated. Another Dussehra celebrated in our homes, there could’ve been a thought covid falling but if precautions not taken wisely, the third wave can come any moment.
Many years ago Lord Rama defeated 10 headed demon Ravana who seized Rama’s wife Sita. The festival name is derived from two Sanskrit words ‘dasha’ (Ten) ‘hara’ (Defeat). Symbolizing Good over Evil. It is celebrated on the 10th day of the 7th month of Ashvina. With the appearance of a full moon called Shukla Paksha. Dussehra has different and stories behind it across India. For instance, in northern and Western India it is celebrated in honor of Lord Rama over the demon Ravana, massive effigies of Ravana, his son Meganath and brother Kumbkaran are set ablaze in the ground. In southern India is celebrated in honor of Lord Saraswati, and in Eastern India, it is celebrated in honor of Lord Durga Maa, Durga Puja is celebrated to mark the goddess victory over the demon Mahishasura. In Western India especially in Gujarat people offer fast and worship nine avatars of Maa Durga. Dandiya and Garba are likely to be played during this time. We all know that it has been 22months now since Covid-19 has occurred and this year’s Dussehra is not the same as past years. As in the past years, there used to be a lot of crowd and pollution. In north India, there used to be Ramlila but because of Covid-19 these the two years during Dussehra there is not as much crowd and rush in the markets as there used to be.
This year virtual Dussehra was celebrated for the first time in history in Delhi; Somewhere the effigies of Ravana will be burnt on a huge screen, and somewhere the effigies will actually burn, but the glare of fireworks and the explosion of firecrackers will be done virtually. Shri Raghunandan Leela Samiti, the current organizer of Ramlila being held in Delhi Cantonment since the time of independence of the country, is also a quandary. In Mumbai, the BMC has asked people to hold low-key celebrations due to the ongoing pandemic. All Garba events have been banned in the city, while restrictions have been imposed. In West Bengal, The state government has not organized any cultural programs during Durga Puja due to the prevailing pandemic. Carnivals have also been restricted around the pandal premises. So the way Rama defeated the demon Ravana we should be defeating covid19 by taking all the precautions which is wearing a mask wherever you can maintain 6 feet distance and get fully vaccinated
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